Electronic Arts (EA), a video game development company, is fighting back against the Florida Family Association (FFA), an anti-gay group, over gay characters and storylines featured in several of EA's titles.
On its website, the FFA claimed that â┚¬Å”queer activistsâ┚¬Â have pressured EA into including gay character in their new Star Wars game. The group has initiated a hate mail campaign, and according to GamesIndustry.biz, EA has received thousands of letters and emails threatening boycotts if the gay content is not removed.
Jeff Brown, EA's VP of corporate communications, told GamesIndustry that EA was not pressured to include LGBT characters in games, but they do meet with LGBT groups to discuss content and harassment issues in online forums.
â┚¬Å”In short, we do put options for same-sex relationships in our games; we don’t tolerate hate speech on our forums,” Brown said. â┚¬Å”This isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political harassment.â┚¬ÂÂ
Randy Stephens, executive director of The GLBT Center of Central Florida, has launched a campaign in support of EA, encouraging the local community to contact the company to express their gratitude.
EA has offices around the world, including their Tiburon office located in Maitland.
